


Making A Family

by aban_ataashi



Category: Pathfinder: Kingmaker (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Found Family, Post-Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29763033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aban_ataashi/pseuds/aban_ataashi
Relationships: The Baroness/Kanerah (Pathfinder: Kingmaker)
Kudos: 2





	Making A Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Orime](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orime/gifts).



It was completely unsurprising to Mercury when Kalikke decided to open an orphanage. It really was the perfect job for her- she was kind and patient and obviously overjoyed to give so many tiefling children the type of home she had always been denied.

It was slightly more surprising to see just how popular Kanerah was with the children.

In retrospect, perhaps Mercury should have foreseen the way the kids flocked to her wife. It had taken a bit of time, that was true; Kanerah was slow to truly warm up to anyone. But even she could hardly resist the adorable tiefling children who looked at her with such adoration. And it was little wonder- Mercury remembered being an odd little kid with dreams of adventure herself, and meeting a woman with flashy powers and tales of adventure to match, one who refused to talk down to her or treat her like something fragile because of her age…that would have delighted her.

It also didn’t hurt that they were the famous queens of the county. Mercury herself received similar attention every time they visited the orphanage, which soon became fairly often. Kalikke and Kanerah always remained close despite their many difference, and Mercury adored every opportunity to visit her sister-in-law and see how much all the children had grown.

And lately, Mercury had been thinking about the children more and more. On one of their visits, she finally decided to finally broach the subject. She bided her time, waiting until Kalikke was herding the children back to their beds, and Kanerah was watching their antics beside her with an unconsciously fond smile.

“You were really good with the kids today,” Mercury remarked, and the compliment seemed to take Kanerah by surprise. She looked away, tensing up slightly before recovering and shooting Mercury a confident smirk.

“Of course I am. Everyone loves me, remember?”

“How could I possibly forget?” Mercury playfully bumped her shoulder against Kanerah’s, watching as the other tiefling slowly relaxed again.

Mercury knew her wife, and she knew this was the type of conversation that could lead to Kanerah putting her guard up; she needed to tread carefully.

But it was something they should talk about, and the longer Mercury watched the laughing children, the more she _wanted_ to talk about it.

“What do you think about all this?” she asked, nodding towards the crowd of kids. “Kanerah’s doing good work here, and they’re all really great kids. They deserve a good home.”

Kanerah’s expression fell ever so slightly. “Not very subtle, my dear.”

So much for treading carefully, then. “When I have ever been subtle?” Mercury said with an apologetic shrug. “But now that it’s out there…what _do_ you think about it?”

“About taking one home with us?” Her eyes went distant, and she didn’t look at Mercury as she shrugged. “We already have Nok-Nok and his little following. You really think we need more manic little goblins running around?”

“I do love Nok-Nok, but he doesn’t have your eyes,” Mercury teased, and that earned her a derisive laugh.

“Neither would they, you fool.” She rolled her eyes, but her defensiveness had faded and with a sigh she finally turned back to face Mercury. “It _is_ the practical thing to do. Eventually we shall have to address the matter of succession-”

“It’s not about that,” Mercury cut in. “If all we want is an heir, a niece or nephew can do just as well as a child. And the way Rosie and Varn carry on, they’ll have that covered any day now.”

Kanerah was silent for another long moment. It was a sign she was mulling this over- normally, she never lost a chance to laugh at the blatant affection Maegar Varn shared with Mercury’s sister. But in this moment, her voice remained serious. “You want a family.” She sighed heavily. “I just wouldn’t even know where to start with that. I never had a family like you did.”

“You had Kalikke,” Mercury softly pointed out.

“And that turned out splendidly, didn’t it?” Kanerah spat, bitterness cutting through her tone before she caught herself. “Things may be much better between us now, but you know we’ve both had our issues in the past. I don’t think ‘happy family’ was ever an accurate description of the two of us. And aside from Kanerah, all I had was…” her mouth twisted, as if the taste of the name about to leave her lips was unbearably sour, “…the Forefather and a lot of people who never even knew who I truly was. It’s not like what you had.”

“I was lucky,” Mercury admitted. She’d been aware of that fact her entire life, ever since she’d been to old enough to understand what it meant to be a tiefling. Her family had never let it change the way they loved her, but too many others fell in the face silly prejudice; the number of children in Kanerah’s orphanage was evidence enough to that. “And you and Kalikke were lucky to have each other, even if you had some rough spots. You act tough, but you can’t hide how much you love her, and you did always try to protect her. Any kid would be lucky to have that.”

Mercury knew her wife. She could see the storm clouds and turning gears in Kanerah’s head as she considered her words. She quickly placed her hand over Kanerah’s and added, “Of course, if you truly don’t want a child, that’s absolutely okay.”

“It is?” Surprise colored Kanerah’s voice, and Mercury smiled reassuringly.

“Of course it is! Kanerah, if I was truly dead set on this it would have come up before we were married. But as I said, we don’t _need_ an heir ourselves, and I would never try to force anyone- especially someone I care about as much as you- to take on something like this-”

“But you want a family,” Kanerah interjected, her brows knit together.

Mercury smiled and took Kanerah’s hands tightly in her own. “I have one. I have _you._ And I also have Rosie and Kanerah and all of our friends- that’s my family now. I would love to add a few more members to it, and it is my personal opinion that we would rock at the whole parenting thing. But if we don’t, I have more than enough to be happy with.”

“I…” For a moment Kanerah seemed at a loss for words- a rare occasion, indeed. For a moment Mercury was afraid she would up and bolt, just as she had done so long ago when Mercury first tried to confess her true feelings. But she stayed, and the relief was evident as she smiled at Mercury. “Thank you. I have never known true family beyond my sister…but I do like the one we’ve made.”

“It’s pretty damn good,” Mercury agreed with a grin, wrapping her arm around Kanerah’s waist. “With the two of us combined, how could it not be?”

“We are both just about as close to perfection as this world can get,” Kanerah agreed with a laugh. Then her voice grew serious once more as she added, “And…and this is not a ‘no’. I need a bit more time, I think…but there is something to the idea. It would not be terrible to have someone to inherit my many skills.”

“They’d learn the secrets of explosions from me, and the secrets of tax laws from you.” Mercury giggled at her own mental image. “Any child of ours would either be a genius or an absolute terror.”

Kanerah laughed too, her gaze drifting back to the gaggle of children who were now listening earnestly as Kalikke regaled them with a bedtime fairytale. “Probably both,” she agreed, and there was a certain hopefulness in her voice.

Mercury knew her wife. When it came to things like this- things that required emotions and a peculiar kind of vulnerability- she simply needed time. Time and space to figure out her own feelings, but once she had that time, she could make a decision she was certain of and never stray from it. And as Mercury watched Kanerah watch the children, she had an inkling of what that choice might be.


End file.
